Péhu Simonet
Fins Lieux n°1 2017
Deep golden robe with coppery highlights — the signature of a pinot noir vinified in barrel —, animated by a fine, steady bead. The nose is that of a mature blanc de noirs from the Montagne de Reims: plum and black cherry, dried flowers, then dried fruits, fresh walnut and a note of cedar left by…
THE CUVÉES OF MAISON PÉHU SIMONETThe expert verdict
The structure of this champagne
TASTING NOTES
Deep golden robe with coppery highlights — the signature of a pinot noir vinified in barrel —, animated by a fine, steady bead. The nose is that of a mature blanc de noirs from the Montagne de Reims: plum and black cherry, dried flowers, then dried fruits, fresh walnut and a note of cedar left by the wood. The attack is winey, broad, almost Burgundian; the chalk of Verzenay quickly takes over and lends tension to the palate, which the extra brut dosage leaves entirely dry. The finish is long, straight, saline, with notes of almond and orange zest. Serve at around 10-12°C in a white wine glass; the wine can still be cellared for seven to ten years.
The composition
Terroirs
Les Perthois is one of the lieux-dits of Verzenay, a village classified Grand Cru on the north-facing slope of the Montagne de Reims: a plot of around fifty ares, halfway up the hillside, a few hundred metres below the lighthouse, on the edge of Verzy. The subsoil is Campanian chalk, which gives the pinot noirs of the north-facing slope their tension and preserved acidity — an asset that has become precious with warmer summers. The pinot noir is harvested and vinified alone here, in oak barrels, mostly 228-litre pièces, and the wine then rests for more than five years on lees before being disgorged and dosed as extra brut. "Fins Lieux" is a dialect word: the finest lieux-dits, those mid-slopes "where things grow well." Each number always designates the same plot; No. 1 is Les Perthois.
About this house
Champagne Péhu Simonet is a family estate in Verzenay, a Grand Cru of the Montagne de Reims. The first harvests sold under the house's name date back to the early 20th century, with the Widow Pehu; Antonin, then Charles Pehu and Marie-Claire Simonet — whose union gave the estate its name — followed. David Péhu, the fourth generation, joined in 1988 and now cultivates 7.5 hectares, 6 of which are classified Grand Cru in Verzenay, Verzy, Mailly-Champagne and Sillery, planted with 80% pinot noir, halfway up the north-facing slope of the Montagne — hence the name of his blended cuvées, "Face Nord."
His conviction: "plants fare better in contact with animals." Sheep graze the vines in winter, a horse ploughs half of the plots and, every year on Saint Catherine's Day, he plants trees and shrubs along the rows of vines. In the cellar: indigenous yeasts, 60% of the wines aged in 228-litre barrels and demi-muids, new oak used sparingly, and a perpetual reserve begun in 2000 in an underground concrete vat. The Fins Lieux, his numbered single-plot cuvées, are proof of his Burgundian philosophy: one vintage, one grape variety, one place.
The perfect pairing
Aperitif
The notes of walnut and dried fruit left by the barrel echo the aged parmesan; the chalk of Verzenay cleanses the shortbread.
Starter
Pearly flesh lightly seared: the winey character of the pinot noir envelops it, and the saline finish extends the iodine notes.
Main course
A roasted guinea fowl with a short jus: a blanc de noirs of this stature stands up to the poultry just as a great white Burgundy would.
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